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Medieval Doune Castle in Perthshire has been closed by Historic Scotland to accommodate the shoot – the latest big-money project to take advantage of the Scottish Government’s tax breaks.

Sam, who played Livingston FC footballer Andrew Murray in River City a decade ago and starred as Hugh Tennent in the lager ads, has had a taste of what to expect once the series hits American TV screens in the summer.

During a break from filming at Doune Castle, the 34-year old-said: “We went to LA and did a fan event last year after we’d filmed four episodes.

“We got there and we’d sold 2000 tickets. It was like being a rock star. People had been queuing from 6am.

“I feel like I’ve stepped on to a roller coaster and not got off it yet. That whole experience in America was quite an eye-opener. ”

Sam plays Jamie Fraser, who meets Claire Randall (played by Irish actress Caitriona Balfe), a field nurse from 1943 who ends up time travelling to 1743.

He describes the series as a mix of “history, adventure, supernatural and romance”.

Some of Outlander’s dialogue is in Gaelic and fans are even following online Learn to Speak Outlander videos to pick up the language.

Sam said: “Gaelic is a strong part of the show and I’m passionate about that. It’s my character’s first language and it’s used to separate Claire from the people in the alien world she has fallen into.”

BBC

Sam as River City's Andrew Murray

The much-anticipated US-made series will inevitably be sold to British broadcasters and Sam acknowledges fears that this American production will come and do “their version of Scotland”.

“But (show boss) Ron Moore is so enthusiastic about Scotland and has made it as authentic as possible, from the crew to the costumes. It should be an authentic Scotland and not an Americanised view,” he said.

“There’s been no time to think about budgets but this is a machine – the biggest thing I’ve worked on. Some of the crew were on River City and it has been nice to see some familiar faces.

“The studio in Cumbernauld is like a wonderland. The standing stones are there, just down the corridor from the stone circle, the armoury, the workshops. It’s a real hive of activity.”

Sony

Sam as Jamie with Caitriona Balfe, who plays Claire Randall in the series

For executive producer Maril Davis, of California’s Tall Ship Productions, filming at a Scottish castle in the middle of the Perthshire countryside brought some unexpected challenges.

She said: “We’ve had an amazing time but those of us who are American have not been used to this right that anyone has to walk anywhere.

“People taking their dogs here and walking, hanging out. We’re like, ‘I’m sorry, who are you?’ But most people don’t care what we’re doing. In the States, everyone takes pictures and puts them online but the people here just want to go for a walk with their dog.”

The castle was used to film comedy classic Monty Python and The Holy Grail and the first two episode of current telly hit Game Of Thrones.

Locals were initially unhappy that the monument was being closed to accommodate a TV programme.

Catherine Mason, monument manager at Doune Castle, said: “We had major discussions about keeping the castle open for this. Visitors and locals weren’t on board with it right away but once they were notified about what was going on they soon came on side.”

The castle closed for a month last year and another 18 days this month.

“They left the four major buildings (inside the courtyard) and just barriered it off,” said Catherine. “But we had a woman fly from San Francisco two weeks ago just to see the castle like this.”

Supporting actors smoking roll-ups in period costume between scenes are among the temporary fixtures within the ancient castle’s grounds, with a pen of goats, Irish wolf hounds, horses, a cockerel, foam cobble stones and strategically positioned heaps of mud and straw adding to the authenticity.

Come the end of the month, though, the castle will be returned to normal, with the show expected to boost current annual visitor numbers of 40,000.

Catherine said: “It’s nice to see the castle being used like this and the more visitors we get after it the better.”